Mechanisms of thermal induced gallium removal (TIGR) from plutonium dioxide. Revision 1

This study was initiated in order to determine the advantages of using a mixed-bed rather than a fixed-bed reactor (i.e. furnace) for separation of gallium from PuO{sub 2} by the Thermal Induced Gallium Removal (TIGR) process. The TIGR process is based upon vaporization of gallium suboxide (Ga{sub 2}O). from essentially nonvolatile PuO{sub 2}. The gallium suboxide is formed by passing a reducing gas (i.e. hydrogen) over the PuO{sub 2} particles. Several mechanisms are involved in the reduction and convective vaporization of the gallium suboxide. If the mass transfer of the gallium suboxide across the solid to gas interface significantly affects the processing time, it may be advantageous to use a mixed-bed reactor rather than a fixed-bed reactor. However, due to the difficulty of handling PuO{sub 2} powder, a mixed-bed reactor should be used only if significant advantages can be demonstrated. Based on available data, the results of this study provide strong evidence that a mixed-bed reactor (i.e. furnace) would provide little advantage over a fixed-bed reactor. This is due to the conclusion that the mechanism of internal gallium diffusion within the particle has the predominant affect on the processing time. This is an important conclusion since the use of a mixed-bed would require development of more complex hardware than for a fixed-bed